New Beginnings
by Hoshino Yukino
Summary: This is my first fic so please R&R. R&R. I beg of you!!!
1. New Beginnings: The Destiny that Lies Be...

Disclaimer: This story is based upon another person's story. The characters in this story are only borrowed from the Vision of Escaflowne.  
  
It has been ten years already, since I last laid my eyes on the book by my bookshelf. It was already gathering dust and its pages were crisp and drenched with the smell of soot. I remember the last time I read it; I was five, back then and barely understood what was written between in its dull covers. All I remembered was white light and some feathers floating around me. Nowadays, I live a normal life in Tokyo Municipal High School, spending most of my time with my family and friends. I never knew that there would actually come a time that my life would change completely...  
It was a dark and stormy day, the wind was blowing hard and the trees outside were rustling among the breeze. I had stayed home that day, trying my best to finish my English journal, which I had already put off for quite some time now. After three hours of writing, I decided to take a break from all that writing. I tried watching television but to no avail; there were no good shows on at that particular time. I lay idle for quite some time, until something struck my eye. Right there on my bookshelf, was a glowing book. I was enchanted by the glowing book and headed for it. A window opened slightly, letting the wind blow in, lightly caressing my hair and skin. As I approached the book, the book stopped its incessant glowing and started to fly towards my head. I tried to block it with my hand, preparing myself for the impact of the book, but there was none. The book had softly entwined itself between my fingers. My mind was debating, whether I should open it or not. I did not expect that my curiosity would actually overpower my logic. I opened the book and felt a tingling sensation run through me. The room was then filled with voices, voices filled with pain and sorrow. It continued on for what seemed an eternity but ended in a quick snap of my fingers. I turned the page, trying to find the cause of the voices, and began reading. I was so engrossed in reading the said book that I did not notice that white light had just engulfed me. I had already reached the tenth page, before I realized that I was not in my home, I was somewhere else.  
I was in some sort of plain with flowers blooming everywhere and animals scurrying around. The wind was cool and yet I felt not a shiver. The cherry blossom trees behind me were such a majestic sight and offered me peace and serenity within my already baffled mind. It was like a perfect place, the Garden of Eden, no worries of problems, but little did I know that it was just a façade of the evil that lies within. I decided to do some exploring, curious of what this place holds and forgetting all the desire of going back home to the world I came from. As I walked down the path by the clearing, the cherry blossoms began to fall slowly like snowflakes during wintertime. The cherry blossoms covered the path I had just trodden on with a thin layer of pink snow. All of a sudden, I heard a noise coming from the bushes. It was some sort of rustling noise indicating that there was some movement there. At first I was terrified, thinking that it was a huge beast but then I thought, how could such a perfect place contain such a monstrous creature? I was still undecided even if the fear within me subsided and once again, my curiosity overwhelmed my logical reasoning. I lay frozen and just let my curiosity drag my already tired feet to the spot where the noise had came from. As I went closer, trying not to make a sound; I heard the sound once more but now something else accompanied it, some sort of voice I guessed. The more I got closer, the more my guess was proven. It was indeed a young girl's voice calling somebody's name. The name sounded familiar, as if I had heard that name before. I went closer and saw the silhouette of a young girl and as I crept closer, I could see her features in greater detail. She had hazelnut-brown hair that shined as the sun's rays hit it. Her eyes were calm and were in a light hue of blue. She wore some sort of Japanese school uniform that was in a light shade of brown and jogging shoes like the ones I wear in school. Her skin was in a shade of pale peach and her nails were colored in a deep hue of crimson red. However, what made her unique was not her looks but actually the pendant she wore around her neck. It was shaped like a beacon and was in a deep shade of red and shone as the sun's rays struck it. I tried to lean closer to see the person who she must have been conversing with but accidentally steeped on a twig, notifying them of my unwanted presence. The person she was talking to approached me stealthily with a sword in his hand and pushed me onto a tree, crushing my neck with his firm hands. I was elevated a few inches from the ground and was hardly able to breathe steadily. He asked me to identify myself and asked me if I was from Zaibach. "Where was Zaibach? What is Zaibach?" I wondered but I knew that I had to answer to him first or my life would be cut short. I sputtered out my name and where I was from but I doubt that he understood what I said. This was proven by the fact that I felt him tighten his grip around my neck. The girl went behind him and begged him to stop crushing my already battered neck. He looked into her innocent eyes and reluctantly let go of me. He looked at me first then stepped aside snarling, leaving a big enough space for the girl to approach me. The young girl crouched down and soon we were face to face. A deep hue of red formed between my cheeks as I saw her with a big smile on her cute face. Her short brown hair held a sweet fragrance that held me bewitched and her lips were red like a rose in full bloom. I lay there stunned and paralyzed as if I was in another time and reality. She asked me if I was fine and waited for my reply. Her voice awakened me slightly and I began to think of something to say. It would take me much more time than what has elapsed for me to recover and so I was only able to coarsely say, "Yes", even if in reality, I was hurting all over. She looked straight into my eyes as if she was examining my soul and I knew that she saw through the façade I had put up. She then stepped back and waited for me to fully recover before asking any questions. As she stepped away from me, the pendant she wore around her neck glowed. I finally gathered enough strength to stand up and approached her, trying my best not to sputter as I say, "Thank you." As I approached her, she sensed me and turned around, letting her short brown hair twirl and be blown by the wind. Right then and there, I knew that I fell in love with her, even if it was only as shallow as puppy love, or so it seemed. I froze and just stood there, waiting for someone to break the silence that enveloped the surroundings. She, then sensing my uneasiness, broke the silence and asked me the same thing the man did, "Where are you from?" I tried to answer her back as casually as I could but was only able to clearly say, "Tokyo, Japan", among the gibberish that I had just said. Her pale blue eyes then lit up slowly as if she was a kid in a candy store.  
"You are from Japan, too?" she inquired exultantly, eyes looking straight at me.  
"Why, yes." I replied calmly, finally untying the knot in my tongue.  
"Finally, somebody from my own world." she said softly as a tear fell from her eyes. The wind slightly blew and the cherry blossoms once again covered the place with pink snow.  
"Your own world?" I asked puzzled and with great interest in my round, brown eyes.  
"Yes, our world. You see, I was transported here with him," pointing to the direction of the person that had tried to kill me just a moment ago, "I came from Tokyo just like you did." She smiled as she ended her line and began to look up and admire the birds at flight. I glanced to where the person was standing and saw that he was about my age. I could say that he was in his late seventeen's. He was wearing a loose, red vest and loose pants that were in light shade of brown. He had a saber strapped to his left and a medieval sword on his right. He had raven black hair and eyes that complimented his hair. He had piercing, cold eyes and as he looked into mine, I felt cold and started to tremble in fear. I looked away breaking the lock of our eyes and wondered how somebody as old as I was, would be able to crush my neck like that and even lift me above the ground that high with only one hand. As I looked at him once more, I felt like I was being sucked into this maelstrom of fear and uneasiness, until she spoke once more.  
"I am so sorry for not having to introduce ourselves, I am Hitomi Kanzaki, a student in Jonan High School and a member of its track team. That man over there is Van Franel, the last and remaining son of the King of Franelia. You are?" she said with a big smile on her already cheery face.  
"It is nice meeting the two of you, by the way I am Kyosuke Mishamaru, a student of TMHS and a member of its kendo club. Ohayo Gosiamasu." I replied as my shyness slowly faded into the dark abyss of nothingness.  
She then told me her story on how they had met each other from when they met each other at the track fields in Tokyo until the time before I met them. She told me how Van had slain a dragon and got its heart out from its corpse and how he saved her from the beast in the jungle. Van slowly approached us and his piercing eyes were now gone and was replaced by smooth, calm eyes that let us see the inner him. He smilingly said, "We had better get going now, the ceremony would begin soon." Van must have eased on me already, seeing that Hitomi was becoming fond of me, was the first thought that came to my mind, and I was happy that it happened this way. Van is really mysterious, I thought. I was in deep in thought, until Hitomi shook me back to reality. Van looked at me confused and began to smile. After smiling, he set off and had us follow him.  
"What ceremony was he talking about back there?" I asked Hitomi with great curiosity in my round, brown eyes.  
"Well, it is like this. It is a tradition that after any of the Franels brings back the heart of a dragon, they get crowned as the king of Franelia, a place not far from here," she replied as if she everything that would happen next.  
"Where are we anyway?" I asked, trying to get the most out of the limited time I had with her alone. I held her hands as we walked in the dark forest. Her hands were warm and carried a comforting touch that made me feel secure.  
She smiled back at me, enjoying all the attention I was giving her and then replied, "It seems that we are in this world called Gaea and the Earth where we lived in is called the Mystic Moon."  
We continued having a spontaneous conversation on anything we could think off and soon without the either of us noticing it were already dusk. We walked for quite some more time, trying to do as much as possible while the sun was still around when Van motioned us to stop. He must have heard something, I thought, but it was not the case. He motioned us to come closer to the ridge and there we saw it, Franelia in all its glory. Its buildings were designed in an old Renaissance style and had a large castle in its center. The castle had three high towers, each having a unique accent that decorated its edges. The castle gates were made out of pure mahogany and its bolts were made out of solid gold. The moat it had around it was enormous and wide, covering a span of one hundred meters. It still remained so detailed, even if we were so far away from that distance. The castle was not the city's only highlight. The houses there were also a magnificent sight especially as night came and surrounded the city in a blanket of darkness. The city then opened its lights, making it stand out in the darkness. We slowly made our descent from the mountain and soon we were just a few steps away from the gates of Franelia. However, we did not know that a group of enemy troops and Guymeleves entered from the back gates and burned everything that was in their path and killed all the people inside the gates of Franelia.   
We were already in front of the gates of Franelia when we heard shouting, screaming and cries come out from the walls of Franelia. We could hear the citizens being murdered and brutalized by Guymeleves and enemy soldiers. Van quickly rushed into the city, and tried to save the last few remaining survivors of the attack but it was too late the whole city was set ablaze, all its inhabitants were slain and the only structure left standing was the castle. Van, thinking out of instinct, quickly rushed towards the castle and searched for Valgas, the man that he treated as his father, teacher and friend, after the death of his father and the disappearance of both his mother and only brother. We tried to run after him, but he was just far to fast for us. He had already entered the castle when we had only reached the moat. We tried to get in but just after Hitomi entered, the wall collapsed, blocking any chance of ever entering or exiting the place in one piece or without hurting one's self. I tried to find another way to enter but was not successful. However, I was able to find a book lying down on the ground. I picked up the book and started reading. Meanwhile inside the castle, Van ran past the burning curtains and portraits and reached the quarters where Valgas stayed. Afraid and nervous, he pushed the door open and saw Valgas on the floor with a knife stabbed into his stomach. Van quickly rushed to his side, quickly pulling the knife out, and let his tears fall down like rain. It was the first time he had cried for a long time no and he knew that if this goes on, it would not be his last. Hitomi then entered the room, puffing and huffing as if she was running out of breath. Valgas, straining all of his remaining strength, began to speak, "According to the book of prophecy, a fallen angel will set the city of Franelia ablaze like what happened today... Among the ashes will rise the angel savior, who will save us all. I believe that this savior is you, Van... However, he could not this job alone, he needs the help of the Goddess of Wings and the Redeemer of Truth..." Hitomi's pendant began to glow and Valgas turned to her direction. Valgas started to speak again, "She, she is the Goddess of Wings and with her you must find the Redeemer of Truth. He would react to the pendant, so find him soon, so that you can resurrect the great Guymelef, Escaflowne. The five of you will form the Tribulation Force..." "The five of us, who are the other two?" inquired Van. "They will respond to the pendant too, except it would not glow that much..." replied Valgas. After saying these last few words, Valgas laid motionless on the floor. "No..." Van cried as his voice echoed around the whole castle, causing it to collapse.   
I was reading the book when I was startled to see a catlike human creep beside me shouting Van's name over and over again. When I looked at the castle again it had already collapsed and I feared that Van and Hitomi did not survive it. Dust and ash surrounded the castle for quite some time until a beam of red light shot out of the rubble and I saw Van and Hitomi fly out. Van grew white wings and flew as gracefully as a dove. They landed right beside me and just then Hitomi's pendant lit up and it was such a bright light that it had almost blinded me.   
Hitomi then jumped for joy and said, "Kyosuke must be the Redeemer."   
Van then replied, "I guess he is."  
"What?" I asked. Van started telling us the prophecy and then I knew what my destiny was and why I was sent here. The catlike human then crept up again near us and hugged Van hard.  
"Merle..." Van said, "Are you all right? How did you survive the attack?"   
"I hid in the closets but I saw that the ones who attacked us were the soldiers from Zaibach, Lord Van. Oh, how I missed you." replied Merle.  
"We have to go now and resurrect Escaflowne in the town of Asturia..." said Van.  
"Umm... before we go can you tell us how you got wings?" I asked really wanting to know how he got his wings.  
"Well, you see my mother was a draconian and she passed me this ability along with my brother. She was said to be the last of her race and now I am the last of the Draconians. It also gives me more strength, speed and stamina than others," replied Van without even having a tone of anger or irritation in his voice.  
As we were speaking, a shadowy figure was behind us standing on the edge of the mountain, watching our every move. He has sky blue hair, black wings, eyes like Van and markings under his eyes. He wore a dark cape, concealing his robotic right arm.  
"Do not worry Van, you will not feel the pain I experienced. I will save you from the pain you feel when you are good. Soon, you would be one of us..." said the shadow.  
"I trust you Lord Folken... Franel. I trust you," said a voice in the background.  
"Ask Dilandau to be ready to attack Asturia, will you?" said Folken.  
"Yes, lord Folken..." said the voice in the background.  
  
~ To be continued...~  
~ God in his heaven, all is right with the world ~  
- Evangelion  
-   
~ The Fallen angel will save the world but take everyone with his death ~  
- Escaflowne  



	2. New Beginnings: The Awakening of Escaflo...

**Disclaimer:**** _This story is based upon another person's story, namely the creator of Tenkuu no Escaflowne.The characters in this story are only borrowed from the Vision of Escaflowne._**

It has already been ten days since the destruction of Franelia. Van, Hitomi, Merle and I were now moving towards this place called Asturia, the land of the forgotten dreams. The past eleven days has been very memorable to me and made me mature in a way that only I would know about. We usually slept on the ground and this made me feel quite uncomfortable. Sensing that I felt uncomfortable as I slept, Hitomi offered me to sleep on her sports bag to soften the ground beneath my head. In the deep recesses of my mind, I knew that she knew I was not used to living outdoors, after living in one of the most urban cities in the world. I refused at first, trying to keep the principles I vowed I would always remember, but she forced me to accept, in a way without lifting a fist. She looked at me with her calm, blue eyes and had this wonderful smile on her face; I could not resist her any longer and accepted her offer. 

Nights seemed to past by so slowly and there were some times that I wanted to leave this place and go back to my own world. As I lay down by the ground, listening to the wind blow and the trees rustle, I cannot help but remember the friends I had back home, the antics that we had with each other and the laughter we shared. I could not hold my tears from falling each time I reached the edge of longing, desire to go back home and I knew I was not alone, Hitomi and Van also felt that way. In the middle of the night, Hitomi would cry out her mom's name and wake up with tears falling down her cheeks. She was usually cheerful at times and usually made me forget about the sadness deep in my heart. However, there will always come a time when someone would feel lonely and I knew that she also had this desire or want to go home, how small it may be. Van would also shed a tear or so ever so often, especially when Merle mentions the word "Valgas" in her fast-paced dialogue but he would always turn his head away as the teardrops. He was covering his soft spot with a façade of strength and courage, but I knew what he really was deep inside… 

We had gone through three towns already and yet still no sign of Asturia. No matter how many times I asked Van how far we were from Asturia, he would not give me a straight answer and would just say, "We are as far from Asturia as it is as far away from us." There were times that I wanted to just give up in our never-ending quest for the city of Asturia but Hitomi's smile usually changed my mind and even made me more intent in finding the city. I was highly enamored of her and hoped that she was too of me but I was so afraid to ask. I knew that she was older than I by merely a few months but still it made me insecure of asking her out. More days passed by and still no sign of Asturia. My feet were already numb and were aching with numbing pain, a pain that seemed to never cease. I was not alone with this predicament, it seems that both Merle and Hitomi were also suffering from it in degrees that words cannot express. Van seeing that our stamina could not take it any longer brought us to this city that I had never seen before, the city of Freid. 

*****

It was a city like any other but had a big marketplace that stretched out for miles. Its castle was also majestic like the one of Franelia and the townspeople were friendly and nice. It had a dock on its East Side and was surrounded by forests on its north and its west. The houses there were mostly made out of adobe and the people wore tunics like the ones worn by the early Romans. The city reminded me of the city of Venice. The canals and the gondolas there were a clear reminder of the world that I knew once as my home. Deep inside my head, I feared that I would see it no more. 

Van brought us to this inn and asked for 2 rooms, one for Hitomi and Merle, and the other for him and me. The innkeeper led us to our rooms and gave us a key each. Van asked me to wait for him inside the room as he met up with one of his friends here in the city. Hitomi bade me farewell for now as she entered her room, slightly winking, with Merle following her closely behind. I felt myself heat up and my cheeks began to flush with a hue of crimson red. "She waved at me," I thought causing me to blush even more, "She actually winked at me!!!!"I inserted the key into the door and opened it. The door squeaked and as I opened it, light went inside the room, lighting part of room slightly. It was dark inside that room and just then, I remembered that electricity was yet a pigment of someone's imagination in that world. I approached the windows, opened the curtains and soon light filled the whole room. The room had 2 beds separated by a small table in the middle, a small armchair by the window, a small rosewood table and a bathroom on the side. The bathroom was clean and spacious even if it did lack the luxuries of modern life like a bathtub. Heck, it had no tiles; it was just cement!!! I lie down on the bed and immediately fell asleep, letting all my problems fly away. Time flew by and I was only awakened by a sharp pull on my collar. My eyes opened slightly and I saw Van in front of me, all serious like and his eyes showed concern and fear as if there was a person behind me carrying a knife. I quickly jumped out of bed and asked him what was wrong, and what made him so uneasy.

He stood there frozen for quite some time before he began speaking with this serious tone in his voice, "You see, I went down to meet my friend downstairs when I heard 2 soldiers talking about destroying Asturia. I wondered how they knew about that place because I knew that only draconians know of its location, which can only mean one thing! There is still another draconian in this world and he is trying to stop me from awakening Escaflowne. I crept away from them and went to where my friend was, sitting on his favorite chair and drinking a tall glass of wine. He was a little drunk at that time so I sat in front of him, and waited for him to regain his ability to think straight, even if he usually is such an idiot sometimes. It took him about an hour or so before he regained his ability to think straight, I would have left him if he did not wake up any later. I asked him if I could borrow his small air ship for tomorrow and he said yes. We continued talking after that, talking about our lives until the topic of the Zaibach Empire having a peace treaty with Freid emerged. Then and there, I knew that Zaibach was the one who was after Escaflowne. I believed that Zaibach would want to have a peace treaty with Freid because Asturia is a city directly above Freid. If Zaibach would have a treaty with Freid then their airships can freely search for the city of Asturia. Asturia is the city of the draconians, the source of all the draconians' powers, you see. And if the Zaibach Empire can harness this power, we would be in great peril and danger."

I stood there puzzled and confused at what he was saying.I looked at him with a confused look in my face and asked him, "What is the Zaibach Empire, anyway?"

"Oh yeah, I am so sorry, I forgot that you were not from this world. You see, Zaibach was once a very industrial city and had power over most of the other cities because of their outstanding wealth, then three years ago, a man named Dorinkirk came to power and spent all of Zaibach's wealth to buy weapons of mass destruction. Zaibach conquered small cities and we call these cities and the original city of Zaibach the New Zaibach Empire. There are only 4 cities; I mean three cities and several towns, which did not fall into the attacks of Zaibach. One of them is Freid, "the land of the endless flow" and the city we are staying in right now. Another is Lucrecia; the land of everlasting love and the last one is Asturia, a flying city and also known as the land of the forbidden dreams. The last one was supposedly, Franelia, the land of the dragon's heart, but as we witnessed it, Zaibach burned it down to ash. Do you get it now?" Van said smilingly even if traces of his anger fumed out as he said the last few words.

"Umm… Okay, I get that part about Zaibach but I still don't get the thing about Asturia." I said insulted by the laughter that Van gave me as if he was saying that I was stupid in a sense that only I could understand and feel.

"Oh, Asturia! As far as I know, Asturia was once the city where the draconians used to live. You see, in the olden times draconians were secretive people so they built a flying city and sent it somewhere above the clouds. The city is enclosed in this big dome, where oxygen is continuously pumped in and out so that the inhabitants do not run out of oxygen at that altitude. To get there, you usually had to fly using the wings draconians are born with or ride an airship to keep our identities secret. My mom was said to be a very important member of the High Tribunal. She was the one in charge of making sure that Asturia would never be seen. Her brother who died long before my mother disappeared was said to be the guardian deity of the city and the leader of the military. His life was shortened though when he tried to save the city of Cretia from falling into the hands of Zaibach but he failed and died. He left me the key to the city in his will," said Van smilingly once more, not even noticing the hints that I have been showing telling him that he is insulting me with his grins. Hell, I was pouting and even frowning and still he replied me with smiles and grins, irritating me even more.

"I see…" I said even if I did not totally understand what he was saying.

"Well then, let us get Hitomi and Merle to eat. I am so hungry," he said ignoring me once more.

"Hey, wait up," I said quickly fixing my hair so that it would be presentable.

*****

We knocked on their door and waited for either one of them to open the door, but none came. Van and I got worried. "What could have happened to them?" we thought. We knocked once more and still got no answer. Van then broke down the door and Hitomi and Merle started screaming. I took a peek and saw that they had just come out of the shower and were wearing only towels around their chests. I blushed and immediately turned away. Van on the other hand, just stood there frozen to the spot. Hitomi then went closer to us and slapped us both on our cheeks. I must put that as a mental thought, NEVER EVER enter her room even if we are in great danger! We told them we were going to wait for them downstairs and give them their privacy. After ten long minutes, they finally came down and sat beside us.

"Why did you ram into our door like that didn't you hear we say, "We're taking a shower", back there." Hitomi said angrily.

"We did not hear you say that. We thought you were in danger, that's why we rammed into your door." Van replied, trying to make Hitomi guilty for slapping him instead of him feeling guilty for ramming the door down.

"Well, you could have knocked once more," replied Hitomi, "humph." 

"Enough of that, we must eat now and sleep early because tomorrow morning we will go to Asturia," said Van in a very commanding tone of voice.

"But, Lord Van, we haven't done much shopping yet," said Merle in a very innocent tone of voice.

"We can always shop when we come back, Merle. Do not worry about it. Anyway, the trip will only take about an hour or so, so we would be back here by nightfall," assured Van.

"Kyosuke, why aren't you talking tonight? You were talkative yesterday, what happened?" asked Hitomi.

"Nothing, it is just that I can not help but think of …" I replied, my cheeks flushed with a deep hue of red.

"Yes… of what," she asked innocently enough, when a soldier entered the inn and shot a bullet into the air.

"Who among you here is Allen Schezar?" asked the soldier.

Everyone looked around trying to find out if anyone stood up but there was none. The soldier then went to each table and examined each and every one of us. He went past our table and we breathed a sign of relief. The soldier searched everywhere but found no trace of this man called Allen Schezar. He angrily stepped out of the inn and apologized for interrupting us. 

"Whew, that was close, I thought they found out that I knew that Zaibach was attempting to destroy Asturia," said Van in a more relieved tone than before.

We continued about eating our meals and began having this strange conversation about the Draconian High Tribunal and the some of the basic abilities of every draconian. Our conversation started with Hitomi asking where Asturia was...

"Just as I told Kyosuke here awhile ago, Asturia is a flying city above Freid. It is located just above the clouds. Draconians have this duty of making sure that the amount of good and evil in this world remains balanced. Oh yeah did you know draconians can involuntarily control weather when they become berserk, neat huh?" said Van.

"I didn't know that you had the ability to control the weather. Can you make it rain now????" said Hitomi.

"Yeah, make it rain and make thunderbolts fall on Zaibach, eradicating it," I said imparting my knowledge with everyone on the table.

"You're the last one I thought who would be that cruel," Hitomi said laughingly.

"Sorry…." I said sarcastically.

"What?????" shouted Merle, "Lord Van, what are you all talking about…"

We continued on talking and talking, until it was already nightfall. We went back into our rooms and settled for the night.

******

The very next day, I woke up at the first shine of day and was about to take my daily bath. I went to the bathroom, only to find it was locked. 

"Is anyone in there?" I asked.

"It's me, Van, I am taking a bath, just wait, I am about done," said Van.

"Oh, okay…" I said, surprised that Van actually woke up earlier than I did or maybe, just maybe he did not sleep at all. 

I sat down by my bed and waited for him to finish. It took about 5 minutes until he finally came out with only a towel draped around his waist.I went in and took my bath and when I came out, he was fully dressed.

"I am going to have my breakfast now. You wake up Hitomi and Merle after you dress up okay," said Van. Then he left me.

I finally finished dressing up and went to the Hitomi and Merle's room. I knocked on their door and soon after that Hitomi stuck her head out of the door.

"What do you want?" she said. Her hair was disarrayed but her face still stayed the same. It was still as cute as ever.

"Van says that after you two dress up, meet with us downstairs to have your breakfast and then we will set off for Asturia," I said, trying not to show my feelings for her.

"Okay, by the way the clothes you're wearing our cute. Where did you buy them?" said Hitomi sarcastically.

I glanced at myself to see what I was wearing and noticed that I was wearing some clothes I had just bought in the market last night.I thought it would be nice to wear them but I did not think that I would receive that kind of attention. 

"Very funny," I said and headed down the staircase.

I went down and met Van there. He was having some ham and eggs for breakfast and I decided to follow what he ate. I had already finished my meal when Hitomi and Merle went down the long and winding staircase and sat beside us. They ordered a couple of pieces of toast and ate them bit-by-bit, savoring each bite for more than a second each.After being delayed by their weird slow eating habits, we set of for the airship by the docks. 

We then set off for the mystical city of Asturia, immediately after reaching the docks, not knowing that a group of Guymeleves was following us.

"Follow that airship," said Dilandau as he piloted his Guymelf and followed the air ship, "Van I really look forward into fighting with you."

****

It took us about an hour or so until we reached Asturia. It was a beautiful city encased in a glass dome and filled with all sorts of plants. We landed in the docking area and found ourselves face to face with a female in her 40s. Van squinted and tried to see who it was and he knew deep inside that it was actually his long, lost mother. Van hurried down the ship and we followed him soon after. Van quickly hugged his mom, trying to savor the warmth and security he felt with her, the fragrance of her hair and the warmth of her touch. His mom also did the same and tears began to fall down from her eyes.

"Van, where have you been? I have been waiting for you here for 8 years now, you know?!" said Van's mom sobbingly and yet sarcastically.

"How was I to know, you were here, I thought you looked for Folken, my brother?" replied Van, trying to hold back the tears he wanted to keep inside.

"I was not able to find your brother so I decided to go here and I left Valgas a message that I was here. You were supposed to live here with me until you were 18 so that I could give you Escaflowne and you can be the king of Franelia," said Van's mom.

"Mom, I have bad news, Franelia was burned to the ground and Valgas was murdered," said Van looking down at his feet.

"You are lying right? Please tell me you're lying," asked Van's mom coarsely and all Van could do is shake his head. 

"That can't be true. Valgas could not have been killed that fast. It can't be," said Van's mom, " I didn't expect this time to come so soon but I believe it is time to bring you to Escaflowne. Come with me..."

Van's mom led us through many trap doors and hallways until we reached this big door with a keyhole by its side.

"Where is the key?" asked Van's mom, "The key my brother gave you!"

"Oh, that one," said Van as he handed the key to his mom, "Here!"

Van's mom inserted the key into the hole and turned it. The door creaked open and it revealed to us a huge robot, a Guymelf.

"This is Escaflowne…" said Van's mom, "You are the only one who can control it. Try it now."

Van boarded the Guymelef and tried testing out the controls.We watched him try out his new toy. Not knowing that there was an armada of Guymeleves led by Dilandau approaching us. Van experimented with Escaflowne until he felt a sudden trembling of the ground. 

"Who could this be??" Van said to himself.

We rushed to the top floor and saw Dilandau and his Guymelves destroy the city. Van's mom rushed to the main building and pressed the defense system activation button. Dilandau seeing that that building was the control tower blew it up in just a few seconds, taking Van's mom's life away with it or so it may seem. 

"NO…." Van cried as his voice echoed inside the city. He quickly boarded his Guymelf and attacked Dilandau with all his rage.

** **

**To be continued**

~ God in his heaven, all is right with the world ~

-Evangelion

-~ The Fallen angel will save the world but take everyone with his death ~

- Escaflowne


	3. New Beginnings: Baptism

Author's Notes:

Ohayo! Watashi wa Hoshino Yukino! I do not own Escaflowne or any of its characters; I am just using some of their characters and guymelves for my story. By the way, I am shifting the POV of the story temporarily to a 3rd person view. Hope you enjoy this!!! Reminder: Please R&R!!!! Read and Review! Send me your comments even if they are flames, I don't care! I love reading your comments!!! Well, here it is…

Vocabulary of Esca Words for non-Esca fanatics:

1)**guymelef **– some sort of mechanized robot the people of Gaea uses

2)**Alsedies** – Zaibach's normal type guymeleves

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_"…sugu teni hairu yume nante yume zya naiyo…"_

_~ A dream that can be easily realized is no dream ~_

-**Martian Successor Nadesico**

**Chapter 2B****: Baptism**

Dark clouds began to loom over the flying city, covering the once continuous flow of sunlight. Rubble surrounds almost every corner of the city as silence overcomes the place. A shout shatters the silence, a shout that came from Van's mouth. His mouth slowly arched into the shape of an o, as the word 'no…' was ejected from his lips. He quickly boarded the huge guymelef in front of him, tears falling from the side of his eyes. He quickly wiped away those tears as his eyes were overwhelmed with pure rage and hate for the pilot of the purple Alsedies in front of him. In his mind, there was nothing else but his desire for revenge, vengeance and in his heart, he knew that nothing else could ease the pain but the blood of the pilot in his very hands. Hitomi and the others stared blankly at Van. They did not know what they should do but knew that no one can stop Van now. Merle tightened her hold on Hitomi's right hand as Van's Escaflowne began to move. Hitomi on the other hand, stood behind Kyosuke and grasped the back of his shirt tightly. Kyosuke's mind began to fill with uncertainty. He knew he had to protect them but how was he going to?! He had no special skills or a guymelef to use. Heck! He didn't even know how to use one. {Duh! He came from the Mystic Moon where there were no guymeleves to pilot} The only thing he knew that could help him defend them is his knowledge of Kendo but how was Kendo going to help them in a situation like this; the guymeleves were ten times bigger than he was. He was determined to protect them and so he stretched out his arms to protect them at his own risk…

"Shit!" Kyosuke said to himself as he prepared for the worst.

Van had started attacking the first of the five Alsedies in front of him, saving the purple one last. For some strange reason the other Alsedies did not attack Van all at the same time. 'Maybe they want him and Escaflowne not that badly damaged and alive' Kyosuke thought, trying to make some sense out the scenario in front of him. He looked confused and dazed then suddenly it struck him. 'Or is it because they believe that they need not use more than one Alsedies to destroy him… NO! That CANNOT happen! And MUST NOT happen' Kyosuke thought quivering at the fact that this was Van's first attempt in battle using Escaflowne while the Alsedies pilots must be more experienced in combat already.

Van raised the massive sword that was equipped in Escaflowne and managed to maneuver it properly. It was a huge sword measuring about half the height of Escaflowne, about an average man's height wide and as thick as the walls of a well-constructed abode building. It literally could destroy anything it touches with its massive size but there was only thing it could not destroy in just one hit and the weirdest thing is that this substance could be found in the swords of all the guymeleves and the Crima Claws of the Alsedies. 

Van rushed at the Alsedies in front of him knocking it down on impact. He then raised his massive sword (katana, if you like to call it that way) above his head and prepared to slash the Alsedies in half. He used both of his hands to grip the massive sword, doubling the force of impact that would occur accompanied by the force of gravity pulling down the massive sword. The Alsedies looked terrified and was trembling underneath the Escaflowne. His comrades just stood there and watched. Never caring to help him but what hurt him the most was the fact that Dilandau did not face him. Dilandau stood there facing backwards on the battle scene. He knew that he was being left behind, "outcast"-ed by the rest of his comrades and that they would only help him if he would show them that he was not going to defeated that easily. He aimed his left hand at Van and shot his Crima Claws directly for the cockpit at point blank range. But it was too late; Van shifted his position after seeing him aim his left hand at him and slashed him from behind. The Alsedies was cut into two before finally blowing up in a massive explosion that covered the Escaflowne in smoke and soot. Oil, debris and blood fell from the heaven above and baptized the first battle of the guymelef Escaflowne. The baptism of blood as they would call it…

'What has happened of Escaflowne?' Hitomi thought, 'Was Van hurt by the explosion?'

The smoke cleared up and the Escaflowne seemed to be unfazed by the explosion that had just occurred. Red aura surrounded the Escaflowne and a gleaming white light surrounded its sword.

"Men, it's now time to attack! Chesta and I will take him later. You two go and destroy him and his friends now!" shouted Dilandau, as Escaflowne stood still awaiting for their next move.

Shesta's and Dilandau's Alsedies soon vanished from sight using the cloaking technology Folken developed. The first of the two Alsedies shot at Van with his Crima Claws but Van deflected his attack by using his sword. He rushed at the Alsedies and was about to slash it in half when the other Alsedies shot his Crima Claws at him. Van maneuvered the Escaflowne and escaped from being hit by the Crima Claws narrowly. 

"I almost had him! That son of a *bitch* is really going to get it now!" shouted the second of the two Alsedies pilots.

"Thanks, for saving my life but I believe that I should have the honors of killing him…" said the first Alsedies pilot.

"Very well, you may have him but if you are unable to destroy him, I will!" said the second Alsedies pilot.

"Terms accepted," said the first Alsedies pilot flatly as he rushed towards the Escaflowne then vanishing.

"What? Where is that *fucking bastard* hiding?" shouted Van angrily.

"I want to help him! I want to but-… What can I do? I want to…" said Hitomi sobbingly.

"Lord Van!!!! BE CAREFUL! I do NOT want you to DIE in front of ME!!!" shouted Merle.

Hitomi kneeled down and stared at the heavens above and whispered slowly, "Give me the strength to help him! I want to help him! I want to…" Hitomi's pendant began to glow and swing to the left.

'Could it be? Could my request have been answered by the being above? Or is it just a premonition? Am I getting better at this fortune telling thing?' thought Hitomi.

'Well, here goes nothing…' thought Hitomi before finally shouting, "Van, he's at your left!"

Van quickly swung his sword to his left slicing off the Alsedies left hand.

"How the hell did that *bastard* find me?" shouted the first Alsedies pilot.

Van rushed towards the Alsedies and was about to slash him when he was hit by a flamethrower.

"HA! You seem to have forgotten that my right hand was a flamethrower! Serves you right, *bastard*!" shouted the first Alsedies pilot.

Van was temporarily stopped by the flamethrower before finally cutting off the head of the Alsedies.

"How the hell, did you believe that I would be defeated by a flamethrower that quickly?!" shouted Van as he sliced the remainder of the Alsedies in two.

Once more, the Alsedies blew up and showered the place with oil, debris, and blood.

"Two down, three to go…" Van said as he rushed to the second of the Alsedies pilots.

"Not so fast *bastard*!" shouted the second Alsedies pilot as he shot his liquid metal Crima Claws at Van.

Van deflected it in a blink of the eye but that was all the pilot needed to cloak himself.

"Damn it! Where is that pilot?!" Van shouted.

Hitomi's pendant began to glow once more and swing to the back.

"Behind you!" Hitomi shouted.

'So the girl is the one who can see through our cloaks' thought Dilandau as he watched the battle, 'we must get rid of her first…'

"Chesta, after this one is defeated. I'll fight Van but kill that girl for me," said Dilandau.

"Yes, Lord Dilandau…" replied Chesta in a very flat tone of voice.

Van quickly sliced the Alsedies behind him. Leaving only rubble around the spot.

"YOU! The pilot of the purple Alsedies come out and face me now!!!" shouted Van.

"Where is he, Hitomi?" said Van demandingly.

"I don't know. I can't feel his presence…" said Hitomi.

Dilandau suddenly appeared in front of Van and said, "Please call me DILANDAU, your highness. I was the one who led the destruction of Franelia if you would like to know."

Van was enraged more and began to rush towards Dilandau.

"Pitiful move," said Dilandau as Van rushed towards him.

Dilandau aimed his flamethrower at Van and flames were ejected from it, surrounding Van in a circle of fire.

"Burn! BURN! BURN! HA! HA! HA! HA! DIE in the FIRES OF HELL!!!!" shouted Dilandau as Van got trapped in the blazing circle of fire.

Van suddenly felt the intense heat that surrounded him. It was a different flame than the other Alsedies used on him. It was if the flames actually were alive and responded to Dilandau's voice. He struggled to get out but the more he struggled the more he got trapped then it struck him. He twirled the sword around his head and created a small wind tunnel that smothered the flames away.

"Darn it!" said Dilandau as he cloaked himself, "Chesta now!"

Chesta's Alsedies suddenly materialized and shot her Crima Claws directly at Hitomi, Kyosuke and Merle.

"I want to protect them! I need to protect them!" shouted Kyosuke as he pushed Hitomi and Merle away, "I will not let anything hurt you because I…"

'...love you, Hitomi. I always had and always will' was the thought in Kyosuke's mind but the words, "…care for you", came out of his mouth instead.

Just about when the Crima Claws were about to hit them, a purple light surrounded Kyosuke and he levitated from the ground. A purple ray of energy came out his hands and destroyed the Crima Claws, the right and left hand of the Chesta's Alsedies.

"Chesta!" shouted Dilandau as he came by her side.

"Lord Dilandau. I'm sorry," said Chesta.

"Don't worry! Let's retreat now. You're hurt!" said Dilandau.

"I will fight you again Van!!! I will not forget what you did to my men and my dear Chesta!" shouted Dilandau as he and Chesta vanished and ran away.

"Come back here! Dilandau!" shouted Van.

Kyosuke fell to the ground and became unconscious. He spat out some blood and then stopped moving. Hitomi checked his pulse; it was weakening. Van was torn between a friend or a desire for revenge. Van quickly jumped down of his Escaflowne and rushed to Kyosuke's side.

******

A hand came out of the rubble in the control tower and out came a woman with wings and she approached the Escaflowne…

******

"Finally, the power of human will has been awakened!" said this old man as he watched what had just happened in the battle.

"Folken! Prepare for the peace treaty with the city of Freid and talk to your brother…" said the old man dressed in a black coat with hair stretching up to his chest.

"Yes, Lord Dorinkirk," replied a man as he walked away from the room.

"Soon! The time of the reckoning shall come once more!" said the old man.

** **

**owari - {for now}**

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**~ To be Continued… ~**

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~ _God in his Heaven, all is right with the world ~_

**_-Evangelion_**

_ _

_~ The Fallen angel will save the world but take everyone with his death ~_

-**_Escaflowne_**

**_ _**

Ending Notes:

Gomen! If I delayed writing this fic for so long! I am also so sorry that this fic is shorter than my regular chapters but hey hope you like it. I also decided to change my writing style a bit by incorporating a few bad words and such. The next chapter would come out sometime soon and would be called The Fate of the Man with the Yellow Hair. Ja ne!


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